Julia awoke to her tablet buzzing beside her head, stirring her from the comforts of her bed. She stumbled out of the sheets, checking that the alarm woke her at the appropriate time.

“…seven.” She mumbled to herself, standing up and stretching. Checking the room, she found Harley and Wess’ beds were empty, and guessed that Essex was out on her morning run. She grabbed the tablet again and skimmed over her schedule, checking off a few things from the day prior, and was reminded of an upcoming assignment as she stepped into the kitchen.

Harley lifted her head from her book and breakfast, resting her arm on the kitchen table. “Mornin’.”

“Hey. What’re you reading?” Julia asked.

“It’s this Eastern Wayside romance novel.” Harley explained, yawning a bit. “Super wordy and dense. I keep checking out every paragraph or so.”

“Is it any good?”

“No, but everyone from the Eastern Wayside calls it brilliant and enlightening.” Harley said, pulling out her tablet. “I’m gonna see if there’s an audiobook version…”

“Good call.” Julia giggled, waving her own tablet. “Remember what we’ve got today?”

“…no?”

Julia rolled her eyes, before showing Harley her screen, as she took a second to read.

“…oh yeah! The weapon thing for whatever the hel-“

“The weapon design and redesign assignment for Team Orientation and Fundamentals!” Julia interrupted, beaming with energy. “Me and Sola can finally get weapons!”

“Nice!” Harley cheered. “It was only a matter of time.”

“And still not soon enough.” Julia said, getting some breakfast from the fridge. “Plus, you guys get to update your weapons with new stuff too.”

Harley kicked her leg excitedly. “I can finally get those jet boosters on my Buster Knuckles.”

Julia grabbed what she could and shoved it in her mouth, before swallowing. “…get yourself ready. I want to get to work on this as soon as possible.”

“Isn’t it due in two weeks?” Harley asked.

“The second draft is. The first draft is due by the end of this week.” Julia clarified, grabbing her jacket.

“Two drafts? Ugghhh…” Harley groaned. “Why…?”

“To be thorough. Do you know where Wess is?”

“She’s in there.” Harley said, indicating to the bathroom and finishing her breakfast too. “I’ll go and wake up Sola. If I’m getting dragged into this, she is too.”

Julia nodded, knocking against the bathroom door. “Wess? Can I come in?”

“If you must.” She replied, as Julia opened the door, and immediately froze as she looked to the bath.

Wess was resting in the water, comfortably letting herself float, with a thin layer of bubbles just covering her…everything.

“Wess, you’re very naked right now.” Julia said, frantically averting her eyes out of respect.

“I’ve nothing to be ashamed of. What do you want?” She asked, her eyes closed and mind focused on relaxing. “Rather, what do you need?”

“There’s an…an assignment we need to work on for…actually, I’m gonna tell you once we leave.” Julia excused, still facing the other way as she stepped out the door. “Be ready to head out in a few minutes.”

“Assignment?” Wess asked. “Alright…fine.” Wess begrudgingly agreed, stepping up from the bath, as Julia swiftly closed the door before she could see anything.

“Put away the pride for once, Wess…” Julia muttered, as Essex came through the front door, still in her exercise gear and with a layer of sweat.

She dabbed at her forehead with a towel. “Cali.”

“Hey, Essex. Can you get changed? We’re going to the study hall to work on an assignment.”

Julia showed Essex the tablet, as Essex peered over the requirements of the assignment.

“I have already finished most of this.” Essex revealed, pleasantly surprising Julia.

“Awesome! Bring what you have with us.” Julia said, grabbing something leftovers from the fridge.

“Understood. I am excited to see you and Sola with your own weapons.” Essex admitted, Harley stamping her foot off to the side.

“Sola, get up!” Harley yelled, toppling Sola out of her sheets, as Sola finally woke up after several attempts.

“Stop yelling…” She whined, as Harley dragged Sola off of the bed and onto the floor. “Ow.”

“It’s team assignment time, Sola.” Harley reminded her.

“Where’s fun Harley?” Sola remarked.

“She’s taking a back seat.” Harley said, pulling Sola to her feet. “Sorry, but we’re starting this one early. Plus, you finally get your own weapon.”

“Really?!” Sola exclaimed, grabbing her stuff. “Let’s go! Let’s go! Let’s go!”

“Uhh, Sola?” Harley said, pointing to her pyjamas.

“…oh!” Sola realised, ducking into the study to get a change of clothes, as Essex came out with a few rough sketches of her scythe.

Julia finished packing a couple supplies, as Wess emerged from the bathroom, impressively put together considering how much time she had to work with.

“Damn, you clean up well, Wess.” Harley commented.

“Yes, I do.” Wess replied, Sola running out the study, half-dressed and half-packed, and digging into the fridge for food.

“Are you good, Sola?” Julia wondered, as Sola finished putting on her clothes, a piece of leftover pizza in her mouth.

“Reah!” She said, before swallowing. “I’m just excited. Oh, I’ve gotta brush my teeth!”

“That can wait.” Harley said, pulling her back with the others. “Let’s go already.”

“Is everyone ready?” Julia asked.

“Yes, taskmaster. Please lead us to no man's land.” Wess dryly commented, getting a laugh from Harley and Sola.

Julia rolled her eyes. “You can thank me later. Let’s go!” Julia cheered, getting a noticeable lack of a response from the still tired team, except for Sola, as they made their way to the study hall.

———

Compared to other campus hotspots like the Spire or the Academy Daiquiri Lounge, the study hall wasn’t nearly as impressive, but it found far more use due to its vast Venator resources and communal vibe. ‘The Brawlers Brew’ café just outside the entrance was far more packed, with early rising students getting their coffee fix, or just a convenient breakfast. Julia recognised a few other teams from their class that were clearly here for the same reason they were, and about as frazzled from the early hour.

“Look at that. Not such a bad idea now.” Julia remarked, as she pointed to a large table that was unoccupied. “Let’s plant ourselves down and get to work.”

“You go on ahead.” Harley said, holding Sola’s shoulder, as she was visibly less animated. “Sola’s already worn herself down. I’m gonna shove some food into her so she doesn’t pass out.”

“That’s nice of you…” Sola mumbled, already back to being half asleep.

“I have not had breakfast, so I will join you as well.” Essex said, as the trio waited in line at the café.

Julia and Wess took their place at the table, with Wess trying to power through the sleep her body desperately craved.

“You know how much I appreciate my sleep.” Wess advised Julia. “So, waking up early to have a bath means I really didn’t want to be interrupted.”

“Sorry, but if we put off big assignments, it’ll only make scheduling harder in the future.” Julia explained.

“Yes, yes, I’m aware.” Wess said, rubbing her forehead. “What's the assignment?”

“We have to design our weapons. New ones for me and Sola, and improvements for you, Harley and Essex.” Julia said. “And first drafts are due by Friday.”

“What does it mean improvements?” Wess questioned.

“Just things you’d like to add, like a new blade or type of handle. Stuff the academy can improve on.” Julia described.

Wess rested against the table. “Right, well I’ll help with yours then.” Wess said, leaning over to Julia a little.

Julia blinked. “What about your re-design?”

“I don’t need one.” Wess said.

Julia paused for a second. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t need to improve it.” Wess reiterated.

“Can you…not think of anything to add?” Julia respectfully asked.

“No, I can, I just see no reason to.” Wess said, firm in her conviction.

Julia scratched her head. “Isn’t your weapon just a broadsword?”

“Just a broadsword?” Wess repeated. “Since when is Belvedere ‘just’ a broadsword?”

Julia doubled back. “I meant, isn’t that sort of low-tech for a modern day Venator weapon?”

“I don’t see anything low-tech about it.” Wess debated. “It’s a perfectly practical weapon. Why should I need to change it?”

Julia wanted to look to the others for guidance, but realised none of them were actually back yet, leaving her to handle the debate alone.

“Well, think about the team here. The sword’s fine on its own, but it doesn’t really compliment any of our abilities.” Julia reasoned.

“Shouldn’t its first job be to compliment mine?” Wess fired back, folding her arms. “And why should I change it for the team? I’m still deciding whether or not I should transfer by the end of the year.”

Julia’s eye twitched. “Bu…you can’t just refuse to change it!” Julia yelled in an out-of-character volume, standing up to make her point.

“It’s fine the way it is!” Wess yelled back, standing up as well, before getting a couple looks from the students around them, as they both sat down, calming themselves.

“You should be focusing on your weapon, not mine. I’m not changing it, and that’s that.” Wess declared, sitting back in her chair.

“But it’s a team assig-“ Julia argued, before realising Wess was completely checked out, not listening to a single word she was saying. Julia was just as huffy, turning away from Wess in frustration, as the other three walked back, now with Sola stuffing her face.

“Where’s the fire, people?” Harley asked, as neither Wess nor Julia responded. “Care to let us know what’s wrong?”

“Wess won’t improve her weapon.” Julia explained, the others sitting around the table.

“It doesn’t need to be changed.” Wess argued back, as Harley quickly realised the problem.

“Alright. You can help us out with our designs.” Harley said to Wess, shocking Julia.

“Don’t side with her! She’s being unreasonable.” Julia said, getting the stink eye from Wess.

“Julia, if she doesn’t want anything new, we shouldn’t force her. It’s her weapon, after all.” Harley reasoned. “You wouldn’t get it, but for us Venators without a Whil, our weapons are way more personal to us. A total design overhaul could really mess with our only means of attack.” Harley explained.

Wess appreciated Harley’s shared viewpoint and smugly smirked to Julia. Julia wanted to debate the point further, but found she had no real footing in which to argue, leaving her to silently sit and stew. Essex spread out her sketches amongst the table, hoping to recapture the attention of the group, as Julia’s mood turned around, grabbing a few pages and becoming mesmerised.

“These are really detailed.” Julia exclaimed, flipping through each intricately drawn page, details measured down to the millimetre. “How long have you had these?”

“I had started them a few months before arriving.” Essex clarified. “The Segaru Clan are comparatively low-tech, so these upgrades were not possible. And most would have been discouraged by the other members.”

Julia caught her use of the word low-tech and gave Wess a knowing look, as Wess averted her eyes and poured over Essex’s sketches as well.

Sola dug into Julia’s bag and grabbed their work supplies, spreading out papers and pencils across the table, as Harley immediately jumped some and got to work.

“What kind weapon do you want, Sola?” Julia asked, Sola sitting next to her with a rejuvenated energy.

“Well, my first idea was something really cutty or hitty like the rest of the team…” Sola said, getting a giggle out of Julia.

“Are those the technical terms?”

Sola blinked. “I don’t think so. Anyway, then Harley said I should do something with my Whil since it’s the strongest thing I’ve got. So I’m gonna get a…what’s the word?”

“Arm-cannon.” Harley said, tapping her pencil to her chin.

“Yeah, that. I can direct my lightning better and hit things real far away!” Sola added.

Julia beamed with excitement. “That sounds great!” Julia exclaimed, hugging Sola excitedly. “Yes, yes, yes! We’re getting weapons!”

“We’re getting weapons!” Sola cheered, joining in. “We’ll be the Gun Gals!”

“Yea-“ Julia started, before really hearing the name. “…or, you know, Team Valiant still works.”

“Oh. Good point.” Sola agreed, drawing up the basis for her arm-cannons, before realising another essential part. “…I think I’ll add some armour.”

“Armour?” Julia asked.

Sola nodded. “And maybe it’s electric, so when you touch it, it’s like an electric fence!”

“I like that.” Harley interjected, before Julia could raise any arguments.

“Maybe focus on the arm-cann-“

“And they’ve got blades on them too! Shock blades or something!” Sola exclaimed, frantically scribbling every idea she had down.

Julia accepted defeat and left Sola to her devices, as she took some paper of her own and started working on her design.

———

The design sessions lasted the rest of the week, as the team took time out of each day working in the study hall, each member providing notes on the others’ ideas and jumping in with suggestions.

“I would advise adding more weight to the barrel. Your bullets will be steadier when fired.” Essex advised, Julia jotting the idea down.

“Does it have a strap?” Sola asked.

“Uhh, no.” Julia said.

Sola leaned over the table. “But what if you drop it during a fight?”

“Good point, but a strap’ll get in the way.” Julia said. “I can take the gun apart, so a flimsy bit of leather whipping around when it’s not in use is only gonna annoy me.”

“The strap could retract.” Wess suggested. “So it clips in place when used, then you pull on it and the strap coils back.”

“That’s a really good idea.” Julia praised, adding in the strap and retracting feature. “Anything else, guys?”

“Make it yellow.” Harley added, Julia snapping her fingers in acknowledgement.

“And now it’s yellow.” Julia said, dramatically dropping her pencil, as her team playfully cheered for her.

“Nicely done, Julia.” Wess congratulated. “And with one day to spare before the showcase.”

“Nope, I refuse to take all the credit.” Julia admitted, politely bowing. “Thanks guys, really.”

“You’ll have to stop thanking us at some point. It’s only gonna fuel my ego.” Harley joked, getting a laugh from the team.

With the last few improvements made, Julia took her seat again, as the rest of the team went back to working on their designs and touching things up. All that was left was Sola, Harley, and…

“Hey, Wess?” Julia asked. “Have you…drawn up anything? Just in case?”

“Julia, we’ve been over this.” Wess replied. “I don’t need to do it. I’m sure Mr Vent will understand my position. Plus, I’ve helped all of you out, so that should count as participation.”

Julia was still doubtful but didn’t want to press Wess any further.

“Dang it...” Sola mumbled under her breath.

“What’s up, Sola?” Julia asked, looking over her shoulder.

“I don’t think this is working.” Sola said, scrunching up another piece of paper and tossing it. “I think I came up with too many ideas.”

“Well, let me se-“ Julia said, as Sola reached under the table and handed her a mountain of finished pages, all crudely drawn, but each one a different variation on the idea of the arm-cannon.

“…Julia?”

“My gods, Sola.” Julia exclaimed. “This is way too much.”

“Yeah…” Sola sighed.

“Okay, lets just pick one and go with that.” Julia suggested, attempting to scale the mountain of papers.

“But they’re all great! I wanna use all of them!” Sola complained. “Maybe I’ll have them all made, then mix and match!”

“You should bring ‘em all in tomorrow and let Vent judge what he likes best.” Harley suggested over Sola’s shoulder. “Play the odds, you know?”

Sola opened her mouth to talk but stopped and just gave a thumbs up to Harley, as she started compiling her papers together into something slightly more manageable.

“I’ve been done for days, so I’m ready to go!” Harley celebrated, kissing her page of sketches. “Wait ‘til Vent gets a load of this!”

Julia gave a side glance to Wess, minding her own business on her tablet, before turning back to Harley and smiling for her.

“Let’s give him hell.”

———

The lecture hall was packed with teams, all carrying their design documents and weapons on them, each occupying the rows leading down to the stage. A makeshift board had been set up to display the designs, with the only thing missing being Mr Vent.

After everyone had gotten settled, the doors opened up, revealing Vent in a hurry, as he made his way down to the stage and met up with a woman at the bottom, dressed in well-detailed goggles.

“Apologies, everyone. I misplaced my keys this morning. Fridays, huh?” He remarked. “I’ll be looking over your designs today along with our Head Engineer at the academy, Miss Jovie.”

The woman next to him waved, as she signed a greeting to everyone.

“She will be assessing the practicality of your designs and whether they’re even something we can make. I'll be making my own observations and generally giving a second opinion.”

Jovie looked to Vent inquisitively and signed a few things to him, as he signed back in response.

“What is that hand movement for?” Essex asked Julia.

Julia blushed a little. “It's sign language. She asked how long this would be, and he said short enough.”

Essex looked back at her. “Do you know sign language?”

“Most people do.” Julia said.

“You’ll come up in teams and each take a few minutes to explain your designs to us. Also, if you already have weapons, please bring them up. It’ll help the visualising process.” Vent explained, as he sat down with Jovie. “First up, Team…Beefcake? Pfft…”

Vent chuckled to himself, as Team Beefcake made their way up to the stage, followed by team after team, until nearly the entire class had been called.

“Team Vanguard, thank you.” Vent said, as they left the stage, giving a thumbs up to Team Valiant once they were back in their seats. “Next up is Team Valiant, and first presenting is Essex…oh, just Essex.”

Team Valiant made their way to the front, sketches in hand, save for Wess, as Essex pinned up her sketches on the board, and bowed to the class.

“Calias Delo.” She greeted to the class. “Mr Vent. Miss Jovie.”

“Miss Essex.” Vent replied, sitting back in his chair.

Essex pulled her scythe from her back. “I wish to make modifications to my scythe to better fit my role as a Venator. While it is effective, there are areas that can be improved upon.” Essex explained.

She touched her hand to the blade’s metal. “My Whil allows the changing of my skin to the metal I am touching. I plan to have a shaft of metal inside of the handle where my hand grips it, allowing me to change wherever I may be. It would also be able to change what type of metal I am touching. For instance, if I was in need of platinum, I would press the button on the handle, and the shaft would change out for platinum, letting me use my Whil more effectively.”

Vent nodded on enthusiastically, as Jovie jotted down notes and calculations about Essex’s redesign.

“If it is possible, I would also have the blade change to the metal selected to be prepared for any situation. Minor alterations have also been made to balance and weight distribution.”

Vent sat back impressed, nearly forgetting to give feedback, before shaking himself. “No problems from me. Is it doable, Jovie?”

Jovie finished up a few more calculations, before signing ‘yes’ back happily.

“Looks like the engineering department can manage it. Personally, I think it’s an inspired and natural addition to your scythe. Well done.”

“Delos.” Essex said, bowing politely and leaving the stage with her illustrations, getting well earned applause from the crowd and a high-five from Harley and Sola.

“Julia Alpine. Let’s see what you’ve got for us.” Vent announced, spinning his pen.

Julia gulped visibly, her anxiety flaring up a bit, despite her best efforts. Her hands were starting to perspire, accidentally staining the sketches a little.

“Hey.” Whispered Harley, as she grabbed Julia’s shoulder and smiled to her. “Give him hell, right?”

Julia put on a brave face and nodded in confirmation, as she headed up with as much confidence as she could muster.

Vent scribbled something on his clipboard. “Alright, Julia, whatcha got?”

Julia sighed to herself, breathing out heavily. “I-I-I don’t have a w-weapon yet, but since I’m a…I’m trained in f-firearms, I decided on an a-augmented semi-automatic rifle for the team.”

Vent put his hand to his chin. “Go on.”

Julia pinned up her design and tried to display it with her hands as best she could, but ended up looking more like a pinup than her actual sketches.

“It’s a b-basic 45-V model, but…modified with increased barrel weight a-and a retractable s-strap so I can control my aim during combat and my b-bullets will be more effective.” Julia explained, trying to keep her sweating under control.

She looked behind her at the team, hoping for a bit of encouragement, and saw the others giving her looks of encouragement, urging her to continue.

Julia cleared her throat.“ A-and…I was hoping, if…it’s possible, for the gun to ch-change depending on the situation. Like, it has a retractable barrel that makes it a sniper rifle, then you rearrange the parts and it becomes a shotgun. That sort of thing…”

Vent nodded his head along with Julia. “I like it. Imaginative design and good use of space and parts. Jovie?”

Jovie lifted her head and signed to Julia.

[I’ll give you some advice directly.] Jovie prefaced. [The design is very clever, but I’ve heard that you have a Whil, right?]

“Yes. Velocity Control.” Julia said, as it was easier.

[I want to see more incorporation of your Whil for your redraft. Think about bullet velocity and aiming, and how that could be improved or manipulated in terms of velocity. As for gun variants, I would keep it to assault rifle, sniper rifle and shotgun. Anymore would be diminishing returns.]

[Thank you.] Julia replied, bowing politely, before leaving the stage, impressed with how sweaty, and conscious, she still was.

“Nicely done.” Harley said, as Julia noticed Joleicia giving her a thumbs up from Team Vanguard’s row.

“Next up…” Vent started, before a smile started to break out on his face. “…Harley Baroke.”

“This is what I was dreading…” Harley moped, remembering her previous experiences with Vent.

“Don’t let him get to you.” Wess advised, as Harley made her way up onto the stage, pinning up her crudely drawn, if well-intentioned, weapon designs.

“I’m interested to see what you’ve cobbled together.” Vent remarked, Harley ignoring the comment and holding her ground.

Harley pulled out her Buster Knuckles to display. “Since my Buster Knuckles are already pretty high-tech, I’ll just be adding improvements. First off, some jet boosters on the back to add propul-“

“I’m sorry, jet boosters?” Vent interrupted, having scanned over her sketches. “Is that going to work?”

“Huh?”

“Where are the boosters pointed, Harley?” Vent questioned, pointing with his pen.

“…at me?” Harley admitted.

“Are you fire resistant?”

“…no.”

Vent raised an eyebrow. “And have you addressed this in your design?”

Harley bit her tongue. “I guess not.”

“Okay then. Now you know my first note.”

Harley felt her anger building, as she looked to Team Valiant for some assurance. She noticed Julia mouthing ‘in, out, in, out,’ reminding Harley to breathe.

“…alright, then how about metal armour for my fingers to avoi-“

Vent raised his hand, as Harley frustratedly stopped where she was and indicated to him.

“Wouldn’t the casing restrict your movement?”

Harley looked confused. “How so?”

“Well, you still need to pick things up with your ‘Buster Knuckles’ on. The armour, as you’ve indicated, means you can’t bend your fingers.”

“No, cause on…” Harley started, before looking to her illustrations and realising there was nothing there to address that. “…oh.”

“Do I need to ask, Jovie?” Vent said, as he got a definitive ‘no’ from Jovie. “Exactly. You need to think these things out before deciding them.” Vent clarified, writing onto his clipboard, as Harley breathed out in a huff.

“Well, we only got a week to work on it.” Harley argued.

“Frankly, you should have had these designs finished before you came to the academy. A professional Venator would’ve, at least…”

Harley balled up her fist. “Why are you just poking holes in my design?” Harley complained, crossing her arms.

“I’m asking questions about how it works. Your job is to explain it so I understand how it works. You have your notes.”

Despite her emotional state, Harley left the stage without causing any damage to Vent, and folded back into the team, getting a reassuring pat on the shoulder from Sola.

“…Sola Lusagi.”

Sola took a second, before realising her name had been called and taking her pile of drawings onto the stage. She displayed page after page, all with varying ideas and concepts, eventually covering the entire board with them, with plenty overlapping just to make space.

The class was silent.

“I kinda did a bunch.” She said, standing in front of the monolith of ideas. “Want me to go through them?”

Vent and Jovie had to take stock before responding. “Y-yes, just…go through your three best.”

“Okay.” Sola said, pulling off a fairly rough sketch. “Well, the first one…”

“Sola?”

“Huh?”

“Your weapon?”

Sola blinked. “Oh, right, uhh…Harley, what’s the word?”

“Arm-cannon.” She flatly replied, still pissed at Vent.

“Yeah, that. It’d be powered by my Whil, cause I shoot electricity, and it’ll let me direct it and control it. There’d be two, one for each arm, but…”

She held up her sketch for clarification. “I thought about adding a Watts gauge on the side, so I know how much I’m firing.”

“Good idea. I understand you’ve had some trouble measuring it, so that seems like a smart edition.” Vent added.

“Yeah! And also, I was thinking I could make it…fly?...I think that’s what it is…” She mumbled, looking over her sketches and trying to make out her chicken scratch.

“I’m sorry, did you say fly?” Vent asked, as Jovie popped her head up inquisitively.

“Uhh…” Sola said, looking over her sketch again. “Yes.”

“And how would it do this?”

“W-well, the electricity would shoot out and, like, launch me? Like, I shoot it at the ground.” She said. “And I would…fly.”

“Okay…” Vent said, hand to chin. “Continue.”

“Then there’s this one, where it…I think I drew a mech…powered by…huh.” Sola said, now remembering the more outlandish ideas she’d drawn.

“Sola?”

“Yeah?”

“Where’d the weapon go?”

Sola looked over her sketch again and pointed to her illustrated wrist. “There.”

“No,” Vent said, giggling to himself. “I mean you’ve lost focus on what your weapon should be. Keep working on your arm-cannons, not the unnecessary surrounding elements.”

Jovie grabbed Sola's attention. [Add more stuff along the lines of the Watts gauge. Keep it smart and contained.]

“Okay. Thank you.” Sola said, nodding and quickly ducking off the stage.

Vent tapped his pen to his clipboard.

“Wess Delacroix Nouvel. Damn, impressive name…” Vent mumbled.

Julia inhaled deeply, as Wess strode up to the stage, standing firmly in place without any sketches.

Vent furrowed his brow, prepping himself for what might be a disappointing answer. “Where’s your design?”

Julia was shuddering from the sidelines, as Wess held strong.

“I’ve decided I don’t need a redesign.” Wess announced, displaying Belvedere in front of her. “My broadsword will be enough.”

Vent breathed out deeply, before sitting back further in his seat. “Is that so?”

“Yes. I don’t need to change it.” Wess said, sticking to her convictions.

“Don’t need to or don’t want to?” Vent rhetorically asked, before standing up, the silent class behind him starting to worry Wess, with Jovie looking on in interest. “There’s no good reason leaving your weapon underdeveloped, especially when it’s only a broadsword, right?” Vent asked.

“Yes, it’s my broadsword.” Wess clarified.

Vent turned to the whole class, before looking back at Wess. “Do you know about Gamma, the former member of Team Spectrum?” Vent asked, sliding his hands into his pockets.

“Oh no…” Julia mumbled to herself, catching Sola and Essex’s eye.

“Is something wrong?” Essex asked.

“Wess might’ve just fallen into a trap.” Harley explained, turning their attention back to Wess and Vent.

Wess looked side to side. “I’m familiar with Team Spectrum, but not Gamma…”

Vent turned to address the class to properly make his point. “Gamma was one of the original members of the Team Spectrum, back when they were attending the Venator Academy as well. The team were given an assignment, similar to this one, and Gamma declared he didn’t feel like changing his weapon for his team. He’d always been the troublemaker of the group, but this was really pushing it.”

Julia was now waving her arms to catch Wess’ attention, but it was still stuck on Vent and his story.

“Eventually, the team was sent to a training mission where they were attacked by a Wailing. Gamma went to use his weapon, while his teammate, who’s weapon created blinding light, did as well. Because Gamma’s weapon wasn’t designed to withstand that, it not only blinded him, but reflected off his weapon and blinded his teammate as well.”

Sola looked away in shameful recollection, as Harley rested a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

“The Wailing attacked, fortunately missing Gamma, but very unfortunately hitting and killing his teammate, Radio, the original fifth member of Team Spectrum.”

Vent gave the class, and Wess, a moment to let that sink in.

“Gamma was later expelled for endangering his team and getting his teammate killed, and Team Spectrum, to be frank, did much better without him going forward.”

Having finished his speech, Vent turned back to a visibly stunned Wess.

“Don’t be a Gamma, Wess.” He advised.

Vent took his seat again and made some more notes on his clipboard. “A broadsword is not enough. Put your pride aside and think about what your team needs from you, for their sake and yours.” He turned to the rest of Team Valiant. “And a word of advice, don’t allow a teammate to make a fool of themselves. It looks bad on them, and on you.”

The team took their seats, all deflated from having been chewed out by Vent, as Wess sat in bitter silence, an aura of bile building around her. Julia decided against trying to talk to her in the moment.

“I think that’s a fair place to call it.” Vent said, now addressing the class. “Class dismissed.”

———

“That pig!” Wess yelled, storming about the team’s room. “That utter pig! How dare he blindside me like that!”

She swivelled to Julia, sitting on her bed. “Why wasn’t I told about Gamma?”

“You were! I assumed you were listening when I told you.” Julia said, nearly as mad at Wess.

“I-“ Wess started, before realising her mistake. “...I suppose I wasn’t listening.”

“Vent sucks so much.” Harley interjected, sitting on the couch and casually watching TV. “But he did make a good point about your sword.”

“What happened to keeping Belvedere the same?” Wess complained.

“Sorry, Wess, I’m on Julia’s side now.” Harley said. “That speech about Gamma really convinced me otherwise.”

“…I refuse to change it.” Wess stared, taking a seat on Sola’s empty bed. “Vent can tear my head off about it for all I care.”

“Wess…” Julia groaned, calming herself before trying to reason. “You don’t have to change Belvedere completely. Just a couple updates to make fighting Wailing easier. Maybe you could add a shield? Or just something to stop Sola’s electricity hitting your sword.”

“Don’t treat me like Gamma!” Wess yelled, standing up angrily. “Why is everyone trying to take Belvedere from me?!”

She stormed out of the room, cleaning herself up as she left, as Julia was about to chase after her, before realising it was best to give her some space to cool off.

There’s no point trying to reason when she’s like this…

Julia looked over at Harley, her feet propped up on the coffee table, as she scrolled through the numerous channels on the TV.

“Harley?”

“Yeah?”

“How’re you handling Vent’s criticism?”

“Pretty good, I’d say.” Harley said, her attention firmly on the TV. “I mean, they’re easy changes and all.”

“It didn’t hurt your feelings?”

“No, it did.” Harley admitted. “But I can take stupid Vent and his nonsense.”

“Oh, okay.” Julia said. “You wanna join Sola and Essex in the study hall? I’m sure Sola could use some help with her arm-cannons.”

“Actually, I’m just gonna chill out for the rest of the day. But I’ll join them later.” Harley said, still flipping through channels.

Julia gave her a reassuring smile. “Alright. I’m gonna go visit Chops for a bit. If you’re feeling peckish, I left some lunch in the fridge.” She said. “But don’t put off working on y-“

“Geez, Julia, you sound like my dads.” Harley said, laughing a little. “Just go! I’ll take care of it.”

Julia sighed to herself. “Yeah, okay. See you in a bit.”

“Later.” Harley said, as Julia ducked out into the hallway, casually checking if Wess was anywhere to be seen, though it was clear she’d already left.

Best case scenario, she’s with Sola and Essex. Julia hoped, before realising that was too unrealistic, sighing to herself and heading to Team Vanguard’s room across the hall.

She knocked on the door politely.

“One second!” Came Joleicia’s voice, as she excitedly opened it, revealing herself in an apron. “Julia! What a pleasure!”

“Hi there.” Julia said. “Is Chops around?”

“She’s just in the bathroom, actually. Come in, come in!” Joleicia insisted, dragging Julia into the dorm room, as she noticed Saxin and Lenin laying on the couch together, waving to Julia as she came in.

“Oh, afternoon Julia.” Saxin greeted. “Sorry about the presentation. Vent really tore you guys a new one...”

“Well, truth be told, I think we needed it.” Julia acknowledged. “You guys did well, though.”

“Everyone except poor Lenin here.” Saxin said, caressing his bitter face.

“Is it too much to ask for a cloak that’s metal AND flows in the breeze?” He complained, as Saxin caressed him comfortingly.

“He’s been really salty about that all afternoon.” Joleicia cleared up. “But since the rest of us did well, I’m making victory muffins.”

Lenin gave her an unappreciative look.

“Overall victory muffins.” She clarified, followed by a good-hearted laugh. “Let’s just be glad Chops didn’t go on for too long. We had to cut her talking points down like crazy.”

“That’s actually why I came over.” Julia said, taking a seat on the top of their couch. “Since she’s a Whil fanatic, I wanted to ask about how to better incorporate my Whil with my rifle.”

“Did I hear the wonderful sound of my own name?” Chops announced, as she exited the bathroom with far more gusto than was needed. “Hey, Julia.”

“Muffins are a few minutes away, Chops. Also, Julia came over to ask some weapon questions.” Joleicia said, getting a thumbs up from Chops.

“It’s nothing too big. I just thought I should ask for some advice outside of my team.” Julia reasoned.

“Totally great. It’s about time someone asked.” Chops said, grabbing Julia’s shoulders. “I came up with, like, eight great ideas for you while you were presenting.”

“Why?” Julia asked, as Chops directed her to the room’s study, and evidently, Chops’ bedroom.

“We’ll just be a few.” Chops stated to the others, as Julia was pulled into the study. A wide array of illustrations and sketchbooks were lain about the room, the table unusable from the amount of clutter present, as the walls were draped in Venator posters, most of them depicting Team Spectrum, and their memb-

“Vector!” Julia exclaimed, dashing around the room. “There’s so many of him!”

“Well, he was second in command.” Chops reasoned. “And he’s so damn hot…”

Julia’s eyes bulged at one particular display. “You even got the rare discoloured version of his 4998 VenCon posters!”

“Evil red eyes and all.” Chops remarked, digging around her room. “Hold on, I’ve gotta find my sketchbook.”

Julia sat against Chops’ bed. “Guess you took your teams study, then.”

Chops shrugged. “Saxin and Lenin wanted to share a bed, even if it was a bunk bed, and Florey felt more comfortable in a room with other people. But I can appreciate the privacy.” Chops explained, finally finding the newer sketchbooks and pulling out this month’s copy. “Got it.”

She handed Julia the book, flipping to the specific page with what looked to be rough sketches of Julia’s rifle, but with noticeable improvements. “I was jotting stuff down throughout the presentations. You can take ‘em, if you want.”

“Wow…” Julia said, flipping through the numerous pages of redrafts, every page with another new weapon. “This is pretty obsessive.”

Chops chuckled to herself. “Yeah, fair call.”

“Hey, do you mind if I…” Julia asked, feeling a bit presumptive. “…could I see your sword up-close?

“Say no more.” Chops said, as she rushed to the side of her bed, grabbing the greatsword laying on its side, still holstered in its scabbard. Chops handed it to Julia, as she bore the weight against her lap, and slowly revealed it from inside the casing.

“Whoa…” Julia said, staring unblinkingly. “It’s beautiful.”

“So that’s why you came over, just to eye up my sword.” Chops teased.

Upon further inspection, Julia noticed the sword had no blade, but instead grooves built into the sides, running across its entire length.

“Is this the part you mentioned in your presentation?” Julia asked.

“Yes, it is.” Chops said, a smile spread across her face. “It works with my Whil.”

Just as she said that, Chops took the handle in her hand, as sharpened ice filled the grooves and formed the blades of the greatsword.

“Wow…” Julia exclaimed.

Chops grinned playfully. “I know. Don’t need metal when my ice is as strong as diamond.” She said, swinging the blade around playfully. “Plus, the sword has built in temperature regulators to keep it from melting.”

“But…you came up with that?” Julia asked. “Just like that?”

“Yeah, on my twentieth draft.” Chops said. “I burned through about three sketch books before I had anything close to this. Hell, I think I was working on this before I even transitioned...man, it really was that long ago...”

“I’ve only gotten up to my third…” Julia realised.

“It’s not a numbers game, Julia.” Chops said. “Twenty isn’t the minimum, or the maximum for that matter.”

“Geez…” Julia sighed, as Chops patted her back reassuringly.

“You’ll get there. Heck, you’ve finished three drafts, so that’s something.” Chops pointed out. “And like I said, feel free to take my ideas. They’re no good gathering dust in here. Think of it like an investment for being a cool friend.”

Julia’s smile widened. “Chops…you’ll make me blush.”

“Of course, since you’re borrowing my designs, and you also took the name I gave your Whil, that means I’d own about...75 percent of your weapon.” Chops joked, as Julia’s looked a bit panicked.

“R-really?”

“No, Julia. I’m just kidding.”

———

“Pick one.”

Sola’s hands hovered over the upturned pages.

“Just one.”

Sola’s hands stayed in place.

“Since you can not see them, picking only one should be easy.”

“…aaaaAAAAHHHH!” Sola cried, retracting her hands. “Fuck it! This is way too hard!”

She threw her papers across the table, but since they were paper, they floated back down to her lap, taunting her further. A few other students in the study hall turned to check the commotion.

“If this is too difficult, would you like for me to choose?” Essex acknowledged, looking over Sola’s drawings.

“No. I’d just be mad at all the ones you didn’t pick…” Sola said, her face sinking into the table. “Uggghhhhhh…this sucks so hard. Why can’t the academy make them all?”

“They would not expend that many resources on one student.” Essex rationalised.

“But I’d use them! I use them all the time!” Sola exclaimed, before slumping to the table again. “…you’re right. They wouldn’t do that…”

Essex leaned down to face Sola. “Why are you having trouble deciding?”

“Cause the team needs me to be good!” Sola complained. “And I’m still really scattershot, and I can’t direct my lightning on my own.”

Sola looked down at the table. “If the team needs me to be useful, then this’ll make me useful. No more losing, no more getting hurt…” Sola declared, lowering her eyes to her sketches, catching Essex’s attention.

“Was this brought on by your Wailing encounter with Julia?”

“…I can direct lightning bolts now, but that’s it! I still can’t direct my own lightning! I’m still just a girl with a squishy body and no control over her Whil. That’s why I need the flight and the armour and th-“

“Methods of escape.” Essex noticed, stopping Sola in her tracks. “In case you become a burden.”

Sola didn’t reply but nodded her head as some acknowledgement to what Essex was saying.

“I don’t want to abandon you guys, though.” Sola mumbled. “That’s even worse…”

They both let the air settle for a second, as Essex started packing Sola’s pages into a neat pile.

“The members of the Segaru Clan have a philosophy.” Essex said. “A scythe is an extension of your life, with how you control it, and how it will end. To be without it would be to lose that part of your life. A weapon is similar, and just as powerful, but using it is where the power comes from. A weapon that is not drawn is a weapon that is not utilised.”

Essex finished packing and left the pile on the table.

“Do not think about a weapon that can never be and start to think about what your team needs. You need a weapon, and the team will need a team member who is dependable.” Essex said. “Can you be dependable?”

After a few more moments of Sola thinking over Essex’s advice, she lifted her head off the table and jumped to her feet. “You’re damn right I can!”

She grabbed the pile and started flipping through the pages, scanning each sketch intently, throwing the unnecessary ones to the side, before grabbing a few that worked well together.

“I think these are good.” She said, handing them to Essex, before getting some new paper and drawing up a solid, new outline. The design looked about as crude as her other ones, and was far from finished, but with a noticeable added focus and clarity that Sola needed.

As Sola kept up the work, Essex spotted Julia coming into the study hall, carrying notebooks under her arms, before waving to them.

“Hey, guys.” Julia greeted, joining them at the table. “How’s the grind going?”

“Look!” Sola exclaimed, presenting her illustration. “It’s actually good now!”

“It was good before.” Julia said, grabbing the sketch and looking it over. “But this is definitely better. Well done, Sola.”

“I’m gonna make Vent faint with this!” Sola yelled, getting the attention of the room again. “Take that, him!”

“Have you guys seen Wess around?” Julia said, checking over the room.

“No. It has only been us.” Essex answered. “Why do you need her?”

“We got into an argument earlier. I wanted to see if she’d cooled down or not, but she’s nowhere to be found.” Julia explained.

“This is not uncommon behaviour for her.” Essex said. “If Wess believes she is right, then she will not wish to be convinced.”

“…that’s what I’m worried about.” Julia agreed. “Anyway, I talked to Chops for some help, and she gave me her notebook with a bunch of ideas for my weapon.”

“Really? Is mine in there too?” Sola said, jumping across the table to grab Chops’ notebook, and flipping to her own page. “Holy shit, are those rocket launchers?”

“Do not get any ideas.” Essex advised, pulling the book away.

“She mentioned some for your scythe too.” Julia said, displaying the book.

“Grela. I am comfortable with my designs.” Essex said. “However, we will still aid in your work.”

“Absolutely!” Julia cheered, excitedly drumming the table. “Oh, my blood’s pumping! Vent won't know what hit him!”

“Heck yeah!” Sola joined in, standing her leg on the table. “Vent’s gonna cry when he sees how good our designs are!”

“I will break his legs!” Essex added, standing as well, as Julia and Sola gave her a worried look, and she sat back down. “My apologies. I misunderstood the moment.”

———

Revisions kept up until Tuesday, with Julia, Sola and Essex nearly finished by the late afternoon. Julia felt confident in the knowledge she was nearly done with a few days to spare, but considering how little she’d seen of Harley working on hers, or of Wess at all through the week, her confidence only went so far. All she’d seen of Wess was her coming back to eat and sleep, then leaving first thing in the morning to who knows where before Julia could say anything. And Harley, well…

“Harley?”

“Yeah?”

“Have you worked on your weapon yet?”

“I’m getting to it.”

Julia stared at Harley, still sitting on the couch with no indication she’d worked on it whatsoever.

“Have you done any work over the week?”

“Yeah, enough.”

“Can I see your sketches?” Julia asked.

Harley groaned. “Julia, relax. I’ll get on it, just give me, like, a few hours.”

“Your Buster Knuckles won’t get made if you refuse to put in the appropriate work.” Julia argued. “That’s what Vent was telling you.”

“I’ll make it soon, just after this show’s done. Can you stop parenting me?”

Julia stamped her foot. “How much thought have you put into this?”

“A ton!” Harley argued, getting up from the couch. “You saw me last week! I was flying off the walls with ideas!”

“How long did you actually work on your design?”

Harley was about to yell something back, but realised how little she’d actually worked on it, and that she’d only help Julia’s case. “…just the group sessions with the team…”

“Which added up to about five hours for the week.” Julia clarified.

“…now you really sound like my dads…” Harley said, sitting back against the couch, spreading out exhaustedly. “But it’s so boring now! It was really fun at the start when we were just shooting the shit about our ideas. Then all the nitty gritty got in the way, and now every time I try to do it, it just bogs me down…”

“You should’ve joined up with Sola and Essex. We would’ve helped you.” Julia suggested.

Harley shook her head. “Nope, I’m just sick of it. I don’t wanna sit down for hours on end and draw draft after draft after draft anymore…I’ll just finish it Thursday or whatever…”

Julia huffed out of her nose, grabbing Harley’s Buster Knuckles and throwing them onto her lap. “Come on.”

“Julia?” Harley asked.

“You’re doing some sparing. I’ll get Essex so you two can fight.” Julia explained, heading out the door.

“What? Why are we sparing?” Harley implored, and not getting an answer in response. “…alright then.”

———

“Julia?” Harley projected, standing at the end of one of the sparring courts.

“Yeah?” She replied, standing by the side of it.

“Why am I fighting Essex?” She asked, pointing to Essex on the other side of the court.

“No back chatting!”

“Does Sola know?” Harley asked, pointing to Sola standing next to Julia.

“Not really!” Sola yelled back, as Julia clapped her hands.

“Get into position!”

Essex moved into a running position, holding her scythe by her side, as Harley retaliated with a more defensive pose.

“Go!” Julia yelled, as Essex dashed forward, straight toward Harley, as Harley braced for impact. Essex slashed her scythe toward Harley’s left side, while aiming her fist to her right, as Harley blocked both with her Buster Knuckles, just managing to hold them in place.

Essex held her in position, unwilling to give up any foreground, as they both stalled in place and waited for the other to crack.

“Harley!” Julia yelled for the sidelines. “Think about your jet boosters!”

“Julia…I’m…real busy!” She managed through her teeth.

“What would you do if you had them?” Julia projected. “How would activate them? Could you control the trajectory? Could they help in this situation?”

Harley quickly realised Julia’s plan, as she assumed Essex was stalling on purpose and wouldn’t attack needlessly, giving her time to think this over.

Okay, so I’m pinned. Harley clarified. But if I had boosters…

She scanned her situation, looking to her Buster Knuckles and how they were positioned.

…I’d use my left one to push her scythe away, and my right to…burn her hand! Yeah!

She looked over her situation again and started to notice a few things wrong.

But my right one’s pointing at me, not her, and my left one’d burn my arm, like…Vent said. Shit. So, the right one…should rotate, right, with…

She scanned her arm again and noticed a perfect spot for her idea.

…a button…in my palm. I hold it and it rotates.

She looked to her left and noticed a small advantage she could utilise.

And the left doesn’t need to be pointed at my arm. It can be aimed off to the side and I’ll get the same effect.

She thought over her situation again, seeing everything come together, and a few more pieces starting to connect. Harley quickly dismounted, giving away her ground, as Essex stood in place to let them both recover before continuing.

“Hey…Julia?” Harley panted.

“Yeah?” She replied.

“Can you…get some paper? I don’t…wanna forget…my ideas...” Harley explained, visibly out of breath.

“Already got some!” Sola said, rushing over to her, as Julia patted herself on the back for a job well done.

Harley’s always been a practical learner. She thought to herself, smirking to herself. And a real dingus.

“There…” Harley let out, sitting on the ground, Julia walking over.

“You getting some good notes down?”

Harley looked back at her, before standing back up. “Actually, yeah. This was really helpful.”

“It’s good to have a change of scenery.” Julia reasoned.

“I’m really sorry about earlier.” Harley said, embarrassment in her tone. “I was just being stupid and stubborn. I guess I didn’t want to prove Vent right, so I just kept putting it off.”

You’re not the only one, Harley. Julia thought, looking back at the team’s dorm room window.

“As long as you get it done. If you want, I’ll go whip up some dinner while you guys keep up the momentum down here.” Julia suggested, getting a manic head nod from Sola.

“You spoil us.” Harley praised. “Come on, Essex. Let’s keep it going.”

“Dal.” Essex replied, readying her stance, as Julia made her way back into the dorms, heading down the hall to the team’s room.

Just before she went inside, she stopped just outside the door.

I hope Wess is okay. All that arguing probably hurt her ego. Julia ruminated. But she can’t keep shutting up like this…

Just as she opened the door, she noticed a glint of light from her bed, reflecting off of Belvedere, as Wess was lying on Julia’s bed, resting Belvedere against her chest.

“Wess!” Julia exclaimed, rushing up to her and grabbing her hand. “Where were you?”

“My goodness, Julia. Don’t do that.” She said, pulling her hand away.

“I’ve barely seen you all week, and you wouldn’t let me talk to you.” Julia said, relieved just to see her.

“…yes, well, that’s sort of been the point.” Wess said. “You hurt my feelings the other day, and frankly…I didn’t know how to react.”

“I know.” Julia confessed. “But listen. I’ve been thinking it over, and…you know your weapon better than anyone. If it means that much to you, and you don’t wanna change it, then I’ll stand beside you on that, all the way, even if Vent chews us out again.” Julia declared. “I’d prefer if you did change it, but you mean more to me than some assignment.”

“…I noticed you fighting outside.” Wess admitted. “When I was out there. I saw you helping Harley with her problem, even if…” Wess trailed off, as Julia tried to catch her gaze.

“Do you need to talk about anything?” Julia asked, holding her hand reassuringly. “If you have something troubling you, keeping it locked up is only gonna hurt.”

Wess breathed out slowly. “I’ve told you about...my parents, right?

“Yeah. They didn’t want you becoming a Venator.” Julia said.

“…well, I didn’t tell you this, but at the bare minimum, they did let me choose my weapon. They refused to send me here, but I suppose they let me have it as a…consolation prize? Anyway…”

Julia sat on the bed with her.

“They took me to an artisan blacksmith and lined up a series of weapons in front of me, each fairly noble and dignified in some regard. Rapiers, halberds, and numerous shields with the family crest on them, of course. I refused all of them.”

“You didn’t want them?” Julia said.

“If I was to be a Venator, then my parents were going to make me their Venator, a family Venator. I’d be their…’warrior princess,’ carrying around a pathetic, dainty sword, probably wearing a frilly dress during fights in case it wasn’t patronising enough…”

Julia kept her hands on Wess’. “So, how’d you get Belvedere?”

“The blacksmith had numerous wares on display around the store. None were being offered for free, unlike my parents’ selection, but one of them caught my eye amongst all the other white noise. This lovely, beautiful, heavy, deadly broadsword, right against the wall.” Wess explained, a slight nostalgic look in her eye. “It was the only real weapon there.”

“I asked if it was for sale, and of course, my father threw a fit and said I couldn’t get it. He fought back, I fought back harder, and eventually my parents declared that I’d be allowed to use it if I payed for it myself. The blacksmith’s prices were absurdly high, and my parents had never given me any allowance, so the sword cost roughly my entire life savings at the time.” Wess explained. “I bought it right then and there, without hesitation.”

Wess faced Julia again, now looking much more content. “Fortunately, the blacksmith sold it at a slight discount, whether out of kindness or pity, but it still made my parents furious. I kept it for all the years they put me through their ‘Venator Classes,’ all the arguments…Belvedere always reminded me that no matter how hard I had to fight for my dream, it would all be worth it, because I’d be a Venator someday.”

Wess looked sorrowful, gripping the sword tenderly. “And then everyone wanted me to change it, and it felt like my parents were forcing their way back into my life again, forcing me to do things I didn’t want to do. I don’t know what I’d do without Belvedere with me. If I can’t become a Venator with it by my side, then what were those years at home really for?”

Wess held Belvedere in her hands, still kept within its well decorated scabbard, as Julia rested her hand against it too.

“Maybe you don’t need a reminder that you’ll become a Venator someday. You’re here right now, with us. That’s a pretty good reminder.” Julia said. “Let it represent the Venator you want to be now, not the one you hope to be someday. You don’t need to get rid of it, just change it to help out your team. It’ll always be Belvedere. And, if you don’t like the changes, or you transfer teams, you can always change it back.”

Wess let the words sink in, happy for the reassurance Julia was giving.

“Plus, it’ll really piss off your parents.” Julia professed, getting a light laugh out of Wess.

“…I want to apologise for acting childish.” Wess admitted. “I should know better.”

“It’s understandable.” Julia said. “But soon, you won’t have to deal with your parents anymore. You’ll be in the industry, and what they think won’t matter.”

Wess nodded solemnly, before giggling to herself. “Personally, what they think already doesn’t matter to me.”

Julia cracked a smile, before jumping up from the bed. “You wanna help me make dinner for the others? After that, we can work on some updates for Belvedere.”

“Oh, no, I couldn’t burden you with that.” Wess professed. “You’ve done enough work, really.”

“Wess…” Julia said. “Just take the help.”

Wess breathed out, before rolling her eyes and joining Julia in the kitchen.

———

It was finally Friday, and the team was really feeling the late nights and hours long design sessions. Sola was barely keeping her eyes open, and Wess seemed justifiably cranky about how many revisions she ended up making. She was happy with the end result, but the blood, sweat and tears spoke for themselves.

“I'm so tired...” Julia groaned.

Sola was slowly nodding off, before jumping up in her seat. “Ahh! There's bugs everywhere!”

“Sola, what're you...” Wess went to ask, before realising there were actually bugs in the classroom. “Oh. Nevermind...”

“It’s never easy putting yourself out there to be criticised.” Vent explained, standing at the lecture hall’s stage. “But I assure you, you’ll come out as better Venators in the long run. These are necessary skills, after all, and you’ll be doing this a lot more with critics far harsher than I.”

“Your face is a necessary skill…” Harley grumbled, getting a look from Julia.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means I’m too tired to think of something smarter…” Harley admitted, as Vent took his seat with Jovie, proceeding to go through each team, one by one, giving mixed results here and there.

“For the last time, Lenin, it just isn’t possible. If you can find wind strong enough to bend metal, then by all means, but until then, your cloak’s gonna have to be stationery.” Vent explained, as Lenin kicked his foot in frustration, getting a sympathetic handhold from Saxin. “That’ll be all, Team Vanguard.”

Team Vanguard headed up the seats again, passing Team Valiant, as Chops and Florey gave Julia a reassuring thumbs up.

“Last on the list, Team Valiant.” Vent said, as the team headed down with the last of their energy, their revised and further revised plans in their hands.

“Let’s start with Essex. Any changes?” Vent asked, clicking his pen.

“One.” Essex said, stepping up to the stage. “Taking advice from your story the previous week, insulation will be added to the handle of my scythe in order to prevent Sola’s lightning from damaging me. This has also been added to the teams designs overall.”

Essex turned to Sola, as Sola nodded back in confidence.

In slight surprise, Vent cracked a smile. “Very nice. I appreciate your initiative on that. It shows some real foresight.”

Jovie made a note of the change, as Julia stumbled up to the stage, hoping her tiredness would quell her nerves, at least somewhat. She stuck up her sketches, now with far more pencil smudges and ink stains, but with an impressively detailed render of her rifle in the middle. Vent looked on with baited interest.

“T-the base of the model has stayed the same…for the most part, b-but I’ve added a readout for my bullet velocity, both the one I’m about to fire and the one I've j-just fired. That way, I-I’ll know how much I need to change my bullets speed once it’s fired, and can adjust my rifle…to accommodate for any slack on my end.” Julia explained, thanking Chops in her head for the clever addition.

Vent turned to Jovie and whispered something, before returning his attention to Julia. “What about your rifles ability to change gun types?”

“I-I’ve shortened it to three different guns, as Jovie suggested.” Julia said, smiling to Jovie. “Assault rifle, sniper rifle, and shotgun. I’ve a-adjusted the design to compensate…”

Vent looked over the illustrations again and laughed a little. “Clean and clever, just like the professionals. Well done.”

“Th-thank you!” Julia replied, a little too loud, getting a laugh out of the class, as she quickly exited the stage.

Vent looked over his list and grinned happily. “Harley. Come on up.”

Harley strode up with visible slowness, as her muscles ached from the extensive training her and Essex went through, and the following nights of staying up and refining her ideas. She visibly yawned before presenting her design.

“So, my thing…” She started, yawning again. “Is better now.”

“Is that so?” Vent skeptically asked.

“Actually, yes…sir.” Harley shot back, pointing to her design. “I’ll be quick. The jet boosters now have a rotating function, allowing me to aim where I want my punches to go, and will let me move them so they won’t burn my arm. The button’s in the palm of the Buster Knuckles, and I just hold it to rotate them. Also, the metal casing now has a layer of protective fabric underneath it to prevent my hands getting damaged.”

Vent went to criticise, but found nothing wrong, as he encouraged Harley further.

“Also, the metal armour’s now just on the outside of my hand, and has that same metal layering as old knight armour, you know that…?” Harley said, before abandoning it. “And, uhh, the insulation thing…”

Vent looked to Jovie, just giving him a nod of approval, as Vent was thoroughly impressed. “Brilliant! A much better improvement.” Vent praised. “That really puts into perspective how lacklustre your first draf-“

“Yes, thank you, Mr Vent.” Harley interrupted, leaving the stage before her emotions got the better of her.

“Alright then.” Vent said. “Sola. I hope you’re only showing me one idea this week.”

Sola made her way up the stage, nearly tripping over the last step, before managing her way across the stage with all the ease of a drunk ballerina.

She pinned up her designs, a little wobbly on her feet, before facing Vent. “…hi.”

Vent waved sarcastically. “Hello.”

“…alright, I stripped everything way back. No flying, no mechs, just arm-cannons. I’ve added, uhh, Harley, what’s it called?”

“An aperture.” She replied, yawning to herself.

“Yeah, an aperture…so I can change the shape and intensity of my lightning.” Sola explained, yawning loudly.

“Would you like a break to take a nap?” Vent joked.

“Could I?” Sola asked.

“…no, just finish up.”

“Okay.” Sola said, mustering up the last of her energy. “I’ve also added a readout on the side, kinda like Julia’s one, that shows how powerful my lightning is, so that way, I can get better with my Whil while still being safe about my training.”

Vent nodded. “Not bad at all, Sola. Go take a well-deserved rest.”

“Thank you…” Sola let out, flopping back into the team.

Vent leaned back with his clipboard in hand, exchanging a couple notes with Jovie, as he scanned over it and clicked his pen idly.

“Wess.”

There was a noticeable quiet over the class, as Wess walked up to the stage, showing the same dignity she always had.

“So, do you have revisions this time?” Vent asked, a noticeable lack of energy in his voice too.

“…yes, I do.” Wess replied, trying to ignore Vent’s tone. “And before I start…”

She looked off to her team for moral support, getting the response she absolutely expected.

“I would like to apologise.” Wess said. “For wasting you and the classes time last week over a silly matter of personal pride. As a fut…as a Venator in training, it was unprofessional and inappropriate behaviour.”

Vent clicked his pen a few more times. “Well, it wasn’t a huge waste of time. We got a good history lesson out of it.”

“Indeed…” Wess responded, clearly her throat. “With that said, I’ve added some features to my broadsword in order to better accommodate my team.”

She pinned up her sketches. “First of all, the blade is now tipped with an alloy blend that Essex has recommended, one that improves the weight and handling of the sword. This also works with her Whil, in case she were to lose her scythe for any reason.”

Wess pinned up another sketch.

“The scabbard has also been made lighter, with the same metal alloy now encasing it, and finally…”

Wess nervously swallowed before pinning up the next part of her design, almost regretting it all together, before looking over to Julia and getting a smile of approval that helped her carry on.

“…I’ve added a shield to my arsenal.” Wess said, presenting a companion shield to the sword with the Team Valiant logo. “The sword is designed to be one handed, so the shield is as well, effectively making me the team’s frontline defence. It shares the same metal as the sword, while also folding up to make it easier to travel with, and…it means I’ll be a better Venator.”

Vent breathed through his nose, before standing up to properly address Wess.

“…I appreciate you coming here with something worth displaying.” Vent said. “While I don’t feel your design has as much innovation or forethought as your teammates, it’s clear you’ve made some real personal changes in order to show this today, and I truly appreciate that. Making a brilliant design is hard, but admitting when you’re wrong’s always harder. Thank you.”

The class clapped for Team Valiant, which the team would’ve appreciated if they didn’t feel so thoroughly buggered. The team handed off their designs to Jovie, before heading back up their seats and collapsing into them.

“As some reassurance, you’ll all get the chance to update your designs later down the the line, once you’ve gotten used to them.” Vent explained. “But don’t rely on that as a crutch. Perfect what you have now, don’t rely on later. With that said…you’re all free to go.”

———

“It’s done! We’re finished!” Harley exclaimed, landing on the team’s dorm room couch.

“I’m done! I’m finished!” Sola said, landing on top of her.

“But at least we’re still alive.” Julia pointed out.

“Yeah, and so’s Vent.” Harley said. “Unfortunately…”

“We’ll get him next time.” Wess added, subtlety smiling back to Julia.

Essex entered the dorm last, stepping uncomfortably. “How long will it be until our weapons are returned?”

“Three weeks, Essex.” Julia replied.

“Three weeks.” Essex repeated, sighing nervously. “Three weeks...”

“I’m sleeping early. Goodnight.” Harley said, jumping into her bed, Sola already in hers, as Julia giggled to herself.

“I’m tired, but I don't think I'm ready for bed just yet.” Julia said, turning to Essex. “You wanna stay up and watch something?”

“…that would be suitable.” Essex replied. “As I am without my scythe, my training routine would be incomplete, so I will need something to occupy my time.”

“Oh, we can continue 'The Beggar’s Heart!'” Julia exclaimed, jumping excitedly onto the couch. “One of the main actors left, so they replaced him with a lookalike, but now the original actor's back on too! They're playing the same character! It's so good!”

“But I have missed several episodes.” Essex pointed out.

“It’s fine. Nothing happens until the season’s finale anyway.” Julia explained, as she noticed Wess coming back from the bathroom, and joining them on the couch. Julia looked a bit surprised.

“Would you mind if I joined?” She asked.

“Uhh, no, not at all. I thought you of all people would’ve jumped at the chance to get more sleep.” Julia said.

“Oh, please, Julia. I can change up my habits every now and then.” Wess replied, as Julia turned the TV on. “Shall we?”

“Absolutely.”